Malcolm Christie

Malcolm Neil Christie (born 11 April 1979) is an English former professional footballer. He played for Nuneaton Borough, Derby County, Middlesbrough, Leeds United, and earned 11 England under-21 caps.

This article is about the footballer. For Malcolm Graham Christie, intelligence officer, see Graham Christie.

Malcolm Christie
Personal information
Full name Malcolm Neil Christie[1]
Date of birth (1979-04-11) 11 April 1979[1]
Place of birth Stamford, England
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1996–1997 Deeping Rangers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1998 Nuneaton Borough
1998–2003 Derby County 116 (30)
2003–2007 Middlesbrough 43 (7)
2008–2009 Leeds United 4 (1)
Total 182 (50)
National team
2001–2002 England U21 11 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Born in Stamford, Lincolnshire,[1] Christie first played football as a youth in the Peterborough area, and started his career at Northborough, moving onto non-League clubs Deeping Rangers and Nuneaton Borough. Whilst playing in non-League football he was also a supermarket shelf stacker.[2]

Christie's big break came in October 1998 when he was purchased by Derby County manager Jim Smith. His first start for the club came on 15 January 2000, and marked the occasion with two goals in a 4–1 win against Middlesbrough.[3] On 5 May 2001, he scored the winning goal at Old Trafford as Derby beat Manchester United 1–0 to secure survival for the club.[4] He spent one more season with Derby after they were relegated from the FA Premier League before Middlesbrough signed him and Chris Riggott for a combined £3 million (possibly rising to £5m) in February 2003.[5] Christie was part of Middlesbrough's 2004 League Cup-winning team. Despite being injured for the final,[6] he appeared in the earlier rounds and scored the winner against Brighton & Hove Albion.[7] His chances were limited at his new club due to several long-term injuries. In 2006, although unable to play due to injury, Christie was invited back to Nuneaton Borough as guest of honour for their FA Cup third round tie against Middlesbrough. Nuneaton went on to shock their visitors by producing a 1–1 draw, and earning a replay at the Riverside Stadium.

On 25 November 2006, after returning from his injuries, manager Gareth Southgate gave Christie a start against Aston Villa at Villa Park. Christie scored on his return in the 43rd minute in a match which finished 1–1.[8] He was released by Middlesbrough when his contract expired in June 2007.[9] He started a trial period with Hull City on 11 September 2007.[10] However, he was not offered a contract at the end of his two-month trial.[11] In January, Burton Albion offered to sign him, but he rejected the move.[12]

In January 2008, he began a trial with Leeds United, but picked up an injury which scuppered any deal. In September, he began using the training facilities at Leeds United in a bid to gain full fitness with the blessing of Leeds' manager Gary McAllister; although, at the time, the offer was considered to be a courtesy, and not intended to be a trial[13] On 13 October 2008, however, he was cleared to play in a reserves fixture for Leeds against Scunthorpe United.[14] On 10 November 2008, McAllister began to open up contract talks with Christie after regaining his fitness.[15] He made his Leeds debut on 17 November 2008 against Northampton Town in the first round of the FA Cup.[16] Christie scored his first goal for Leeds on 28 December, in the 3–1 victory away from home, against Stockport County.[17]

Christie suffered a spinal injury in training and, following medical advice, retired from professional football on 29 January 2009. Following his retirement, Christie took up a new career working as a salesman for Jaguar.[2]

References
  1. "Malcolm Christie". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. Malcolm Christie starts new career as car salesman, Sunday Sun, 26 February 2012. Archived 9 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Derby batter Boro". BBC Sport. 15 January 2000. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  4. "Rams gatecrash United's title party". BBC Sport. 5 May 2001. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  5. "Boro grab Derby pair". BBC Sport. 13 February 2003. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  6. "Boro lift Carling Cup". BBC Sport. 29 February 2004.
  7. "Games played by Malcolm Christie in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  8. "Aston Villa 1-1 Middlesbrough: Gareth Barry's penalty earns Aston Villa a point after Malcolm Christie fired Middlesbrough ahead at Villa Park". BBC Sport. 25 November 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  9. "Boro let striker Christie leave". BBC Sport. 10 May 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
  10. Hull take a look at former Boro player Archived 7 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine NorthEastFootball.co.uk website.
  11. "Christie fails to net Hull deal". BBC Sport. 2 November 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  12. "Christie rejects Clough overtures". BBC Sport. 10 January 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  13. HELPING MALCOLM Archived 12 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine, LeedsUnited.com
  14. Archived 16 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, leedsunited.com
  15. "McAllister in talks with Christie". BBC Sport. 10 November 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  16. "Christie Makes Cup Debut". LeedsUnited.com. 17 November 2008. Archived from the original on 1 January 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
  17. "Stockport 1-3 Leeds". BBC Sport. 28 December 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
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